Book Review & Short Summary
Toni
Morrison’s Beloved was
published in 1987. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was a
finalist for the National Book Award. Inspired by the real-life story of a
runaway African-American slave named Margaret Garner, who killed her own daughter
to prevent her capture and enslavement, Beloved tells the story of Sethe, a
runaway slave who takes her daughter’s life in the same manner.
The novel begins years
after slavery was abolished. Sethe resides in the house numbered 124 in Ohio
with her daughter, Denver, and the haint of her other daughter, who is dead.
Her mother-in-law, Grandma Baby Suggs, has passed away, and her two sons,
Howard and Buglar, have left home. When Paul D, who was enslaved with Sethe at
Sweet Home, meets Sethe again after years apart, the two act on their
attraction to each other and pursue a relationship. Paul D scares away the
haint that haunts the house, much to Denver’s grief, as she has relied on the
spirit of her dead sister for company in her isolated home. One day, Paul D,
Sethe, and Denver encounter a finely dressed young black woman named Beloved
waiting for them at 124. They feed her and give her a place to rest until she
becomes a permanent resident in the house. They do not realize at first that
Beloved is the spirit of Sethe’s dead daughter taking corporeal form.
As the mysterious
Beloved extends her stay at 124, Sethe’s and Paul D’s traumatic memories of
their enslavement grow more prominent. Paul D is forced to recall his abuse at
the prison farm in Alfred, Georgia, where he was imprisoned after trying to
kill his last master, Brandywine. Sethe confronts her rape and stolen
breastmilk at the hands of the nephews of Sweet Home’s brutal new master, the
schoolteacher. They determine through their shared stories that Sethe’s
husband, Halle, became delirious after witnessing Sethe’s rape and disappeared.
Eventually, Paul D suspects that Beloved’s presence may have something to do
with the growing unease at 124. When Paul D interrogates Beloved, she gets her
revenge by seducing him. Feeling guilty, Paul D tries to tell Sethe about his
indiscretion but, out of panic, suggests that they have a baby together
instead. The two have a moment of romantic glee despite both doubting that
pregnancy is the right path for their relationship.
One day, Stamp Paid, the
man who helped Sethe escape Sweet Home, shows Paul D a news clipping describing
Sethe’s arrest for killing one of her daughters. Years ago, when Sethe first
arrived at 124 with her newborn baby, Denver, she was finally able to reunite
with her two sons and daughter who had escaped before her and were safe in
Grandma Baby Suggs’ care. Jealous that Grandma Baby Suggs’ family was doing
well, the townspeople neglected to warn them about the arrival of the slave
catchers. Without any time to make an escape, Sethe took her children with her
to the shed and tried to kill them all with a handsaw. She succeeded in killing
only her oldest daughter before the schoolteacher and the slave catchers found
her. Reasoning that she was not sound enough to return to Sweet Home, the
schoolteacher and slave catchers left. Sethe was arrested for murder. The news
of Sethe’s actions horrifies Paul D. When Paul D confronts Sethe about it, she
defends her actions, which leads to Paul D’s departure from the house.
With Paul D gone, 124
falls into decline. When Beloved reveals herself to be Sethe’s murdered
daughter, Sethe is overcome with guilt and neglects her job to give into
Beloved’s every demand. Denver realizes quickly that Sethe’s health is
declining due to Beloved’s possession. She reaches out to the townspeople for
help, leaving her house on her own for the first time. When news of Beloved’s
haunting makes its way across town, the townspeople gather in front of 124 to
exorcize it. At the same time, Denver’s new employer, Mr. Bowdin, arrives at
124 to pick her up for her night work. When Sethe and Beloved come out of the
house to see about the commotion, Sethe mistakes Mr. Bowdin for the
schoolteacher. She attacks him with an ice pick, only to be wrestled down by
Denver and several of the other townspeople.
Paul D learns of what
happened through Stamp Paid and checks on Sethe. When Paul D enters 124, he
finds Sethe in Grandma Baby Suggs’ bed, grieving Beloved’s departure. He
promises to take care of her along with Denver. While they are both haunted by
their pasts, he reminds her that they need to learn to heal to survive.
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